posted at 5:21 pm on June 5, 2014 by Allahpundit

We offered them some prisoners at Bagram. They demanded the Taliban Five. The White House caved. Then, per WaPo, the White House proposed handing over only two of the five uprfront, with the other three to follow later. No dice, said the Taliban. All five go free or we walk. So all five went free.

But we did get them to agree to a nifty one-year travel ban in Qatar, so put that on a plaque for Obama’s office wall.

My favorite line in the WaPo piece, incidentally, is this one: “There were concerns, officials said, that notifying Congress would lead to public disclosure of the operation or new political roadblocks that administration officials say could have killed the exchange and potentially imperiled Bergdahl.” Breaking federal law to avoid “political roadblocks” is as perfect a distillation of Obama’s second term as you can get.

When the talks began as part of what U.S. officials hoped would be a broader Afghan peace effort, U.S. envoys were forbidden to offer any detainees held in the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of a trade for Bergdahl. According to people familiar with the process, negotiators were allowed to include only Taliban fighters held at the detention center at Bagram air base, outside Kabul…

The Taliban countered with a list of six senior Taliban officials being held at Guantanamo Bay. The list included the five Taliban commanders released as part of the Bergdahl agreement, as well as a sixth who died during the talks, which stretched from February 2011 until June 2012…

U.S. negotiators proposed that Bergdahl be released at the same time two of the five Guantanamo detainees would be sent from the prison to Qatar, where they would face a travel ban to any destination outside the country. The three remaining detainees would be released three months later.

The Taliban wanted all five to be released at the same time as Bergdahl, with the stipulation that once in Qatar, they would be permitted to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and to Europe, if necessary, for medical care. U.S. negotiators rejected those conditions.

Apparently, the “moderate Taliban” whom the White House is counting on to broker a phony fig-leaf “peace deal” as we leave Afghanistan concluded they couldn’t sell a swap for Bergdahl to “hardline Taliban” unless the Taliban Five were part of the deal. So the White House stood down and — eventually — scrapped its demand that the prisoners come from Bagram. Any theories, by the way, on why Obama would have been initially reluctant to free Taliban bigwigs at Gitmo circa 2011-12 but is willing to do so now? Was there anything he stood to lose at that time by doing so that he doesn’t stand to lose today? I can think of something.

If you’re going to free five dangerous Gitmo prisoners and take a massive political hit, logically you’d want to get as much as you can for them to soften the blow. And yet:

The Department of Defense was putting together a plan to include Caitlan Coleman of York , Pa., her baby who was born in captivity and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, in any deal to free Bergdahl, said Joe Kasper, chief of staff to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee…

“The DoD was looking at this in the whole of scope of things, to deal with these people as well,” Kasper said. “Instead of five for one, why not five for five?”

In a June 2 letter to President Obama, Hunter said the Defense Department plan, which Hunter said did not have time to materialize before negotiations headed by the State Department gained Bergdahl’s release, did not include a prisoner exchange.

Coleman’s been missing since 2012. Why was it left to Defense to float a (too-late) package to bring her back with Bergdahl? Or maybe I’m missing the point here. Maybe, if this really is all about finding political cover to release dangerous prisoners from Gitmo and ultimately close the prison, it’s better to have Coleman still out there so that other Taliban degenerates can be traded for her separately. She’s an even more sympathetic figure than Bergdahl, having given birth in captivity, so O might be thinking he can get away with repatriating more of the worst of the worst in exchange for her. Note to the Taliban: Ask for Khaled Sheikh Mohammed as part of this one. The answer may surprise you!

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Apparently, the “moderate Taliban” whom the White House is counting on to broker a phony fig-leaf “peace deal” as we leave Afghanistan concluded they couldn’t sell a swap for Bergdahl to “hardline Taliban” unless the Taliban Five were part of the deal. So the White House stood down

In a June 2 letter to President Obama, Hunter said the Defense Department plan, which Hunter said did not have time to materialize before negotiations headed by the State Department gained Bergdahl’s release,

Translation: they had to get the VA scandal off the front page quickly, so this couldn’t be negotiated in time.

I wish that the guys supposedly arguing on ´our´ side would at least get it right that it was the Haqqani´s, A crime syndicate / offshoot of Al Qaeda, NOT the Taliban that had him…..

Well, in the interest of accuracy…

But now that I think about it more, maybe saying it was the Taliban IS good propaganda, since 0bama, Reid, Pelosi & Co, and the Perfumed (Eau De 0bamabutt) Princes of the Pentagon are insisting that the Taliban are really the nice guys now, and the White House designated future rulers of Afghanistan.

Apparently, the “moderate Taliban” whom the White House is counting on to broker a phony fig-leaf “peace deal” as we leave Afghanistan concluded they couldn’t sell a swap for Bergdahl to “hardline Taliban” unless the Taliban Five were part of the deal. So the White House stood down.

Pull every last American out of there now. If we can’t fight a war to win then don’t go. Yes our people have died for nothing except their honor. I have ZERO respect for any of the general or admirals or the DoD. They are nothing but lickspittles for Obama. I trust absolutely NO government agency to be truthful. The constitution is dead to these Totalitarian Fascist I don’t expect to get it back in my lifetime. The “grand experiment” failed. We had liberty but couldn’t keep it.

I think it would take a miracle, but if we could get some Democrats on board…

Ward Cleaver on June 5, 2014 at 5:31 PM

I’m starting to think that might happen after Obama said he didn’t consult with congress because he couldn’t trust them to keep it quiet. I’m guessing they aren’t happy about having their integrity questioned. (if they know what integrity is)

I don’t necessarily accept the premise that he caved. I think he’s happy to give them whatever they want.

CurtZHP on June 5, 2014 at 5:40 PM

He probably made some hand-waving gestures just to let everyone know that he was ‘doing his job’ first. Otherwise he might have sent them the 5 Talibe and a choice of tacnukes because, you know, its so unfair for America to have weapons like that and what better way to disarm then to hand them to the underprivileged terrorists who need reparations for attacking us?

I’m starting to think that might happen after Obama said he didn’t consult with congress because he couldn’t trust them to keep it quiet. I’m guessing they aren’t happy about having their integrity questioned. (if they know what integrity is)

kcewa on June 5, 2014 at 5:41 PM

You’re talking about the current demorats in Congress, right? And they’re going to actively oppose Dog Eater beyond some whispered words of disappointment?

Say, wasn’t there a scandal about the VA going on last week? I guess that got resolved.
Jackson on June 5, 2014 at 5:48 PM
Actually it’s now a two for…now people are talking about this absurd mess and the VA mess.

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at one point during his captivity converted to Islam, fraternized openly with his captors and declared himself a “mujahid,” or warrior for Islam, according to secret documents prepared on the basis of a purported eyewitness account and obtained by Fox News.

The reports indicate that Bergdahl’s relations with his Haqqani captors morphed over time, from periods of hostility, where he was treated very much like a hostage, to periods where, as one source told Fox News, “he became much more of an accepted fellow” than is popularly understood. He even reportedly was allowed to carry a gun at times.

The documents show that Bergdahl at one point escaped his captors for five days and was kept, upon his re-capture, in a metal cage, like an animal. In addition, the reports detail discussions of prisoner swaps and other attempts at a negotiated resolution to the case that appear to have commenced as early as the fall of 2009.

The reports are rich in on-the-ground detail — including the names and locations of the Haqqani commanders who ran the 200-man rotation used to guard the Idaho native — and present the most detailed view yet of what Bergdahl’s life over the past five years has been like. These real-time dispatches were generated by the Eclipse Group, a shadowy private firm of former intelligence officers and operatives that has subcontracted with the Defense Department and prominent corporations to deliver granular intelligence on terrorist activities and other security-related topics, often from challenging environments in far-flung corners of the globe.

Say, wasn’t there a scandal about the VA going on last week? I guess that got resolved.
Jackson on June 5, 2014 at 5:48 PM
If they were hoping this little stunt would knock that off the front page, all I gotta say is:
Instant karma’s gonna GET YA!!
CurtZHP on June 5, 2014 at 5:52 PM
It’s a two in one military scandal package!!

Can we find something to trade for a truly stand-up Marine sitting in a Mexican jail for doing nothing more than screwing up an exit at a border crossing?

What if we concoct a story that he’s really a deserter; would that help?

IndieDogg on June 5, 2014 at 5:31 PM

I don’t think Mexico would be willing to take 5 Gitmo terrorists in return for our Marine, but as long as Obama’s in a trading mood I’m sure at least some elements of the Mexican government would be willing to trade for some well-heeled cartel criminals.

This will be a dead issue by next week.
Obama (and everyone else in Washington D.C.) knows there are no consequences for his actions.
albill on June 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM
Doubt it of all the scandals Obama has set in motion the VA and this have a long,long life. It’s like there is something new or worse every hr on the hr.

Note to the Taliban: Ask for Khaled Sheikh Mohammed as part of this one. The answer may surprise you!

Answer from valery :
” sure KSM in on his way , just let us get his US passport ready, his US military ID completed , his Swiss bank account loaded , until then, why don’t you guys enjoy the 5 suitcases full of cash i’m dropping over in torabora ? Also, some male and female
pink-hags are on their way to service y’all”

Six years ago, when I saw those clips of Jeremiah Wright’s rantings, I thought, “If this POS Obama didn’t have the stones to go up to Wright, check his bags, shove a forearm into his throat, and say, ‘Quit the anti-American talk, or I’m out of here,’” he’ll never be able to oppose the even greater evil lying in other quarters of the world.

Now, I realize that Obama completely agreed with Wright’s rantings. And he needed to stay in Wright’s church to develop a grievance base. But after the fact, Obama claimed that he didn’t agree with Wright, and he went on to offer the ridiculous claim that he never was aware of Wright’s feelings in the first place. Everyone knew the second claim was a lie, but the media completely gave him a pass on the first claim. In the end, someone who’s too gutless–or too venal–to stand up to a POS like Wright was always going to be a terrible negotiator with greater evil.

It strikes me as absolutely insane that this is how they decided to go about emptying Gitmo, or that they want to do so in the first place considering the lives lost capturing these animals, as well as the lives in peril as they return to the battlefield.

But I’ve long since given up on expecting common sense out of this bunch. This is what we get when an inexperienced community organizer with no business anywhere near the White House is inexplicably elected President.

This will be a dead issue by next week.
Obama (and everyone else in Washington D.C.) knows there are no consequences for his actions.

albill on June 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM

And you are 100% correct in that regard. I wonder what the next thing is. If nothing more the constant barrage of mal/misfeasance should weary the voters of democrats for a few years. That’s all one can hope for since there truly will be no consequences.

Besides the murdering of veterans in a government run health care system known as the Veterans Administration under the smartest guy alive being wiped out of the news cycle, nobody is talking about the an&l raping of the average American with those new EPA dictakts.

Not. One. Word.

Obama just added at least an additional $2000 out of pocket to middle class families. Energy is at the bottom of every cost structure and your bill is just a part of that. Food and everything else still can’t get to you on Unicorn farts.

Maybe, they didn’t cave. Maybe, they wanted to get the most bang for their buck. If their goal is to get back the most hostages, sure they try to trade 5 detainees for 5 or more hostages. But, if their goal is to empty GTMO, they trade 5 detainees for 1 hostage.

I think this is certainly plausible; probably likely. That is releasing these guys as a way to get the shirker back and thus couch the backlash. But if so, then why would the administration allow their own ranks to dump on the guys who served honorably with the turncoat when they speak out in memory of those who died trying to get the POS back? Are they so cynical that they’ll let any narrative develop that puts a fence between the White House and criticism?

I’m really impressed with the way this president spins every disaster he creates as just another distraction, dismissing criticism as “par for the course”. Not. The man is insane, so far in over his head, so oblivious to the world stage, so ignorant of the consequences of his actions, unable to see the big picture, and totally untrustworthy. What other president has earned THAT honor…totally untrustworthy? Shame on him for keeping Feinstein and Chambliss in the dark. It’s despicable.

She’s an even more sympathetic figure than Bergdahl, having given birth in captivity, so O might be thinking he can get away with repatriating more of the worst of the worst in exchange for her.

I am not sure if Caitlan Coleman is a “more sympathetic figure” than Bergdahl, but she is even dumber. Pregnant, she and her Canadian husband decided to vacation is Afghanistan. They were backpacking when the Taliban captured them. The u.S. has no responsibility for people who do moronic things and get in trouble. By the way, the ex-wife of Caitlan’s husband is a Muslim and the sister of a terrorist.

This is just like all of the bad decisions that Clinton made in the 90′s regarding Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda which came to bite us in the butt on 9/11. Then, they kept yelling “Bush was on watch, Bush was on watch”. And Bush had to go clean up the mess that The Democrats had made. It will probably be up to the next Republican President(s) to go clean up the insanely large mess that Obama has made.